How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing

KC Davis

Apr 2022 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by KC Davis and Dr. Raquel Martin

About this audiobook

An NPR Best Book of 2022
USA TODAY Bestseller

This revolutionary approach to cleaning and organizing helps free you from feeling ashamed or overwhelmed by a messy home.

If you’re struggling to stay on top of your to-do list, you probably have a good reason: anxiety, fatigue, depression, ADHD, or lack of support. For therapist KC Davis, the birth of her second child triggered a stress-mess cycle. The more behind she felt, the less motivated she was to start. She didn’t fold a single piece of laundry for seven months. One life-changing realization restored her sanity—and the functionality of her home: You don’t work for your home; your home works for you.

In other words, messiness is not a moral failing. A new sense of calm washed over her as she let go of the shame-based messaging that interpreted a pile of dirty laundry as “I can never keep up” and a chaotic kitchen as “I’m a bad mother.” Instead, she looked at unwashed clothes and thought, “I am alive,” and at stacks of dishes and thought, “I cooked my family dinner three nights in a row.”

Building on this foundation of self-compassion, KC devised the powerful practical approach that has exploded in popularity through her TikTok account, @domesticblisters. The secret is to simplify your to-do list and to find creative workarounds that accommodate your limited time and energy. In this book, you’ll learn exactly how to customize your cleaning strategy and rebuild your relationship with your home, including:

-How to see chores as kindnesses to your future self, not as a reflection of your worth
-How to start by setting priorities
-How to stagger tasks so you won’t procrastinate
-How to clean in quick bursts within your existing daily routine
-How to use creative shortcuts to transform a room from messy to functional

With KC’s help, your home will feel like a sanctuary again. It will become a place to rest, even when things aren’t finished. You will move with ease, and peace and calm will edge out guilt, self-criticism, and endless checklists. They have no place here.

Ratings and reviews

First this book should be marked as explicit in the filters. She curses regularly in it. That's not something I want in my family library. Second, her attitude is so bitter and angry about her condition and life that it's not motivating at all. It's like she's trying to prove herself to others and wants you to have the same attitude. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. I wish I could get a refund for this book. Waste of money.

my wife and I are both neurodivergent. I am perhaps a little too far on the OCD side, while she is more like the exact target audience for this book. There absolutely are some good tips and tricks in this book, and I hope that they are helpful for people. But I must say, from my standpoint, the majority of what I got out of this book was, "You know how you feel bad when you don't do anything? Just keep not doing anything, but don't feel bad! Then.... somehow magic!". If you are in a situation like mine, just give the book to your spouse and don't read it. Even listening to the audiobook was stressful for me, not to mention triggering

Life changing. I cried so much. This one will be a repeat listen. If you have ADHD, chronic illness, trauma, or anything that makes care tasks difficult, this author offers not only some practical suggestions, but actually helps you to unpack the ROOT of the problem and deconstruct your shame. This book is going to be a very helpful tool for me as I continue to grow towards a life of self-compassion and functionality.

About the author

KC Davis is the bestselling author of How To Keep House While Drowning. A licensed therapist, she is the creator of the popular Struggle Care website and Instagram, and the Domestic Blisters TikTok, where she shares her revolutionary approach to self and home care for those dealing with mental health issues, physical illness, and hard seasons of life. Across platforms, KC has more than 1.5 million followers. KC has been featured in The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, Slate, Well + Good, Good Inside with Dr. Becky, Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris, among dozens of other media. She recently launched the podcast, Struggle Care, which is available on every podcast platform. KC Davis lives in Houston with her husband and two daughters.